for sure, the school sounds legit.... and for the sakes of cramming all the craft at once (and doing it right), it's the only way to go. I really only recommended the apprentice angle to encourage you to submerge yourself into it before you invested in it. I guess I'd say that about anything....
That said though, the training can't hurt anything but your debt. If you're confident in them and committed the craft, the pro outweighs the con.
I was going to recommend the electronics too.... part of the guitar luthier skill incorporates the electronics too... then once you get into that, you might as well be doing amp work and even like you mentioned, pedals. I use an amp tech about 3-4 to 1 more times often than for luthier work. All of these could be really interesting, but if you were thinking big, like creating your own instruments, that could be the ultimate goal and most rewarding.
I'm sure you've got your own references, but here's a couple guys I've dealt with doing similar things. You can see what they are doing conclusively. A pedal maker.....
http://cusackmusic.com/wp/
an all around service tech.....
http://neworleans.craigslist.org/msg/1883873945.html
this store pretty much has the biggest line-up of custom-shop pedals, so gives you an idea of who's doing what.....
http://proguitarshop.com/
if you get into the custom stuff, keep in touch, I can help w/ the branding and packaging.... I love start up business ventures!